Michigan man convicted in fatal stabbing, dumping of body in park

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A western Michigan man has been convicted in the fatal 2019 stabbing of a man whose body was found dumped in an Ottawa County park.

A jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Jordan Scott Loomis, 30, of murder. The Grand Rapids man will be sentenced to life in prison on Jan. 25, the Grand Rapids Press reported.

Prosecutors said Loomis stabbed 51-year-old James Earl Robertson eight times in a vehicle on Nov. 25, 2019, drove to a Tallmadge Township park and dumped his body there.

Robertson’s body was found about two weeks later.

Loomis testified on his own behalf at trial, telling jurors he was addicted to crack cocaine and that he met up with Robertson while he was on a four-day binge of drug use.

"Crack cocaine is the devil’s drug pretty much," Loomis said during his testimony. "As soon as you take it, you just want more and more."

Kent County prosecutors alleged that Loomis hoped to get Robertson, a would-be dealer, to give him some crack on the promise for a later payback, and if Robertson refused, he planned to rob him.

Prosecutors also said Loomis took $50 from Robertson, although Loomis claimed Robertson gave him the money. They said Loomis never went to a hospital and Robertson died in the vehicle after the stabbing.